Goods container transportation means



W. P. KELLETT Filed July 17 1930 GOODS CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION MEANS July 7, 1931.

Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES a v 1,813,169 I WIL IAM PLATTS xnnnnrn'or fianw Yon inn.

Goons CONTAINER TEAllILS TQI tF Ml'lIQN" MEANS Application filed July 17,

sist in the novel arrangement of the C6I1-' tral caster wheel supports of the goods container with a gauge narrower than the gauge of the flanged guides of the car upon which the container is mounted and correspondingly narrower than the gauge of the end sets of caster wheel supports, together with the novel flaring arrangement of guide flanges on the car deck to direct the flanged wheels of the container on to the central runway.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the adjacent ends of a pair of railway cars having flanged runways for receiving wheeled goods containers, said cars being arranged at the maximum angle of standard railway curves, the position of the container and its supporting caster wheels being shown on dotted lines on one end of a car.

Figure 2 is a similar plan view showing in short dotted lines the position of a container spanning the adjacent ends of the two railroad cars and also'showing the position of the container in long dotted lines when moved farther on to thesecond car.

Figure 3 is an enlarged and elevational view of the deck of the car showing the 10-. cation of both end and inside caster wheels located between the retaining deck flanges.

In the carrying out of this invention the 40 railway car is provided with a deck 1 formed preferably of steel plate having the central portion 2 thereof depressed to form a central channel with slightly bevelled edge flanges 3. These bevelled edges are flared outwardly at the ends 4.

The goods container, which may be of any desirable construction, is provided with a plu rality of sets of caster wheels, the sets 5 and 6 being arranged close to the ends, while the sets 7 and 8 are arranged substantially equi- 'The longitudinal 1930. Serial No. 468,723. 7 c j I distant from the" ends and equidistant from eaclrotherrv I spacing of the caster wheels is such that the set of wheels ;8 will, when the container isbeing moved from one, carto' another, remain on thedeck surface .until the. adjacent end set 6 has r'eached'the deck of; the. adj acent car, or vice, versa the jset =7 will remain in engagement with'the car deck until the-se't: 5f hasreached the other car'in {w moving in: the otherdirection, This provides a cantilever support forthe-container WhlChTPIBVQIItSit' from tipping endways."

Thejjend sets of casters (land? are spaced apart so that when the wheels are set parallel with the sides of the container, the side rims of the outer wheels will engage the bevelled flanged edges 3 of the deck plate, thus preventing any side play.

The inner sets of casters 7 and 8 are, however, of a narrower gauge than the end sets and they are spaced inward from the flanges 3 at a distance-sufiicient to permit the caster to rotate. This narrower gauge arrangement I r of the inner sets of casters permits the container to be rolled from one car to another when standing on curved sidings without the handling of freight containers which are operated longitudinally of a flanged car deck, and the arrangement of the casters in this manner permits the unloading of the containers lengthwise of the train, irrespective of whether the train is standing on a straight or curved track.

It is of course an important feature in conjunction with such caster arrangement that the central depression of the car deck shall be clear of other obstructions to interfere with the proper movement of casters in moving the containers from one car to another.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A goods container having wheel supports spaced longitudinally of the container, the end pairs of said wheel supports being of a wider gauge than the others, and a car having side flanges adapted to engage the wider gauge wheel supports.

2. Railway oars having car decks formed with raised longitudinal side flanges forming a runway, containers having wheel supports at the ends to engage the flanges of'said run ways, and wheel supports intermediate oftheir length of a lesser gauge than the end wheel supports.

1;; 3. Goods container transport means comprising railway oar 'deoks having depressed parallel sided longitudinal runways formed with flaring ends, goods containers having wheel supports arranged in pairs adjacent to the ends, said. wheel supports 'being of a gauge to bring the flangesof the wheels 'intoengag'ement with the flanges of the runways whereby said goods containers will be supported against lateral displacement, and sets of m wheel's spaced between the end wheels and of a narrower gauge than said end Wheels to permit the containers to 'be swung at an angle to the runway in passing from the car.

WILLTAM PLATTS KELLETT. 

